The Morning Read (4.06.09) Haley’s Krueger and the NY Times on Jody Hill

Mine was nice, but not nearly as productive as it needed to be. Sort of the story of my life, I guess, but I really wish I had about seventeen extra copies of myself. I might have some hope of eventually catching up if that were the case.

As it is, I’ve got about seven things to write today if I want to just keep from falling further behind. Let’s see if I’m able to pull it off.

Have you had a chance to check out the new Starz original series, “Party Down”? It’s co-created by Rob “Veronica Mars” Thomas and Paul “Paul Rudd” Rudd, along with John Enborn and Dan Etheridge, both also “Mars” veterans. It’s a series about a catering company, with each episode set at a different event. Very simple. Very, very funny, and the cast is excellent. Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Lizzie Caplan, Ryan Hansen, the great Martin Starr, and Ken Marino are the regulars, and it’s been a loooooong time since I’ve seen any series premiere with a bench that strong. There’s not a weak link in that cast. Still not convinced? Well, you can see for yourself right now. Starz has two of the episodes online over at their site, The Screening Room,and you can check them out after entering some info for the age gate. It’s mainly for language and a quick glimpse of Enrico Colantoni’s junk. I’m not sure what my favorite line in the two episodes was: “I believe the preferred term is jigroes.” Or maybe, “It was like watching a mummy battle.” Either way, check it out.

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Jackie Earle Haley is Freddy Krueger. Latino Review made the call early and then confirmations came cascading in over the last week with the trades bringing up the rear. Brad Fuller discusses the casting on his blog over at Bloody-Disgusting, and he sounds justifiably psyched by the idea that he got Haley to play the part. I am, too. I just read a recent draft of “Nightmare On Elm Street,” and at this point, I think it reads as a smart, potentially scary update to the property, with a Freddy Krueger that I think honors the core of the character. He’s vile. He’s not a stand-up comedian. He’s dangerous. His dreamscape is weird and surreal, and it’s about punishing those he feels wronged him. He’s very, very violent. Sadistic. Awful. Haley has already got the reputation of being the go-to guy to play damaged goods, but if he puts everything he has into this new version of Freddy, it could be one of the most successful reinventions of a horror icon ever.

Rakontur is a company that produces some mighty fine documentaries and films, and they’re probably best known for the “Cocaine Cowboys” series, including a third film they’re making right now. They’re embroiled in a battle with the state of Florida over whether or not documentaries qualify for the state’s tax incentive rebates, and they’re a little bit pissed off.

I love it when actors get older and have no box-office clout to protect and they just start telling it like they see it, and without a filter. And I love Elliott Gould anyway. You give him a platform to talk about his life and his work and I’m absolutely fascinated.

And speaking of Toshi, one of his favorite TV shows to watch on DVD is the 1967 “Spider-Man” animated show. He knows all the words to the theme song now (although he mangles “radioactive” every single time he sings it) and he is riveted by the show even though it’s sort of inert when you watch it from an adult’s perspective. It’s enough for him that Spider-Man is in it, and that he likes the bad guys. And now, you don’t have to have a DVD box set to watch every episode. According to Jerry over at Cartoon Brew, Marvel.com is set to post every episode to their own website, one per week.

And speaking of ThinkGeek, I am impressed by their personal soundtrack t-shirt, and I think this may indeed end up as a required purchase at some point soon. I’m already contemplating what to put on my SD memory card. I think I’m going to enter rooms to the sound of “Anvil Of Crom” from the “Conan” score from now on. It can only help when I’m going on pitch meetings, right?

I’m not familiar with Sarah Haskins, but I have to say… I think I like the cut of her jib. I hate advertising. I think it’s repulsive and stupid and I think it reinforces the worst stereotypes in the world as a shortcut to brainwashing you. It’s a field filled with talented people who do incredible technical work in the service of absolute bottomless evil. So I like anyone who points out just how bizarre and amoral the underlying message in a lot of what we watch can be.

Looks like Vern’s onboard with Australian exploitation cinema, and I love that he sort of snuck up on it his own way, never realizing that “Not Quite Hollywood” is about to drop a time bomb on pop culture that will hopefully lead to people slowly but surely realizing that Ozploitation is some of the most insane and delicious low-budget madness you can find. He reviews “Dead End Drive-In” this week, and I’m glad he finally caught up with a movie I’ve got a real fondness for.

Did Tom Leonard really think that J.D. Salinger was going to suddenly open up and decide to talk to him just because he showed up on the reclusive author’s doorstep? Or did he just decide that harassing a 90-year-old recluse might liven up a slow news cycle?

Okay… this is strange. I was talking to someone about the work of Jody Hill the other day. Along with his collaborators Ben Best and Danny McBride, I think he’s carving out a unique place in modern comedy, and with each new project, I think he gets better at it. I was trying to explain what it is that I love about his characters to my friend, and I said, “It’s like all of his leads… all the people in his films… in their minds, they are all the stars of their own movies.” And then tonight, I’m reading this New York Times profile on Hill, and he uses almost the exact same phrase to describe his characters. I think it safe to say that I am on the same wavelength with Hill in terms of what I respond to and what it is that he enjoys doing. Looks like I’m in for a lot of entertainment as long as we keep these guys working.

And if you’re freaked out or turned off by “East Bound and Down” or “The Foot Fist Way” or “Observe and Report,” then perhaps Mr. Shawn Levy is more your speed. Go with God. Sincerely. It’s not my thing, but I love that one newspaper can profile two such radically different comic film talents in one day.

I guess it makes sense that right now, people would be desperate for work in any field, and a lot of people think extra work is easy money. I’ve done some of it. I thought it was wretched and soul-crushing. But right now, I guess it’s a job that a whooooole lotta people want to try.

And speaking of a slow erosion of civil rights, there’s a great piece looking back at Orwell’s 1984 over at The House Next Door. Well worth your time, and a great look at just what it is that makes the novel so timeless.

I just looked at the tags for today’s Morning Read, posted at the bottom of the article form, and it’s one truly weird-ass list today. Seems like the perfect way to start the week. See you back here later today as I try to catch up on the Motion/Captured Must-See Project and also prepare this week’s “On The Shelf,” even as I have a million other things to get ready. Sheeeesh.

The Morning Read appears here every day, Monday through Friday. Except when it doesn’t.

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I said it before on several occasions, but for any reasons I’m more interested in what the new Freddy KrÃ¼ger will look like. Same old Pizzaface or something more bizarre, maybe with a little help of the CGI techniques that we know from the POTC sequels or The Dark Knight?

By: flash2000

04.06.2009 @ 4:37 PM

Oh man, I can’t tell you how Iphone friendly this article is now with “new window” links. Thanks man, another great morning read.

By: chutneylix

04.06.2009 @ 7:31 PM

I’m still really puzzled by this hatred of advertising as a whole. I think there are truly despicable parts of it (like advertising to children and teens) but I don’t see it as any different than other media. I think it goes hand in hand with the kinds of unwanted messages that…television, movies and music put out in the public. To me it makes more sense to hate the business focused, money warped system most everything in our world (the first to go was entertainment)has become intertwined with. And on a separate note, as much as I love what DVR and online streaming has been doing for us junkies (reducing commercials!), I greatly fear the fast-coming day when because of this evolution our movies and tv shows are just one long advertisement.

By: O Goncho

04.06.2009 @ 9:16 PM

I’m about to sit down and watch the original Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time ever in my steadily progressing little life. Trying to have an open mind but it’s tough with that Simpsons Treehouse of Horror spoof at the forefront of my mind. Here’s hoping.

By: Scudman

04.07.2009 @ 4:31 AM

Did Anne Billson not see ‘Eden Lake’? Or ‘The Children’. Apparently not. Both British horror movies released in the last year, and FAR superior to anything I’ve seen from Hollywood lately. Britain has a great horror tradition, a genre we really seem to excel at, and perhaps a genre that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

By: Scudman

04.07.2009 @ 4:39 AM

Oh, and I’m soooo happy that your links now open a new tab in the browser rather than moves forwards in the same tab. Much better!!